At the same time, the publication notes that the US administration has not yet received official requests regarding the transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine.
In recent weeks, the administration of US President Joe Biden has told European allies that the US will allow them to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
This is reported by CNN , citing its own sources. It is noted that several European countries have expressed their readiness to export F-16s to Ukraine, but the United States must approve such a transfer to a third party due to the sensitive technology of the aircraft.
At the same time, it is noted that the US administration has not received official requests for the export of F-16, and State Department officials tasked with processing documents for approving such transfers to third parties have not started work.
“Despite the fact that the United States is unwilling to send its F-16s to Kiev, US officials told CNN that the administration is ready to approve the export of aircraft to Ukraine if the allies decide to make the delivery,” the agency said.
Also, some members of the US Congress note that modern fighters will make it easier for Ukraine to target Russian aircraft without having to waste expensive ammunition of the Patriot system, with which Ukraine has already shot down a Russian fighter .
However, some US officials are skeptical of this argument and point out that Russia has large air defense systems that could easily bring down F-16s. According to them, Ukraine does not carry out many air missions with existing fighters precisely for this reason.
National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby declined to specifically comment on the possibility of the US sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but said broadly that the US is looking ahead to “future capabilities” and needs. According to him, the F-16 “is not on the agenda” of the G7, although the issue of aircraft, of course, may appear on the sidelines of the summit.
F-16 for Ukraine
Earlier, the media reported that the United States does not allow Ukrainian pilots to train on the F-16 in Europe. At the same time, as noted by Yahoo News, it will be possible to teach pilots from Ukraine how to fly the F-16 in 4 months, and not 16, as previously thought.
At the same time, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that there were no F-16 aircraft either in Germany or in the UK .
It is also expected that the issue of supplying fighter jets to Ukraine will be considered at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in June.
Source : Униан
